The first house: Beach house 2

But the story of the house didn’t stop in the living room.

Just a few steps up from that sun-filled space was another area waiting to become something more. From the living room, four small steps lead to the dining area and the kitchen tucked beside it. When I first walked through the house during the open house, those two spaces felt separate and slightly quiet, divided by a wall that closed the kitchen in.

But even then, standing there for the first time, I could already see something different.

I imagined the wall gone.

In its place, I saw a long island stretching across the space—a place where cooking, talking, working, and everyday life could all happen together. A place that could quietly become the center of the home.

And once that idea settled in my mind, I couldn’t unsee it.

So that was where the next transformation began.

We removed the wall completely and installed a long island—more than ten feet across—right in its place. Above it, I hung three handmade pottery pendant lamps. In the evenings, when the lights glow softly above the island, the whole space feels warm and welcoming.

The island quickly became the heart of the kitchen.

It also gave me something I had always wanted: generous drawer storage. I prefer storing dishware in drawers rather than cabinets with doors. When everything sits in a drawer, you can see it all at once with a single pull—no reaching into deep shelves or stacking things out of sight.

For the same reason, I often prefer not to have upper cabinets if there is enough storage below. Without them, the kitchen immediately feels more open and spacious. The walls breathe a little more, and the room feels lighter.

Of course, in a smaller kitchen, upper cabinets are often necessary. But here we had enough space, so I decided to keep the upper area mostly open.

For the cabinetry, I designed a simple style with thin, modern molding and painted it in a soft, powdery sage green. For the island, I chose an ivory cream color so it would blend gently with both the feathery green cabinets and the washed oak flooring that flowed throughout the space.

All of the plumbing fixtures and hardware were finished in matte black. The backsplash tile also carried touches of matte black within an off-white pattern. These darker accents helped ground the kitchen and balance the otherwise airy palette of soft colors.

Inside the cabinets, I designed pull-out drawers deep enough to hold dishes of different sizes. It took several rounds of back-and-forth adjustments to get the proportions right, but it was absolutely worth it. In the end, we created four different drawer sizes—perfect for cups, tall wine glasses, plates, bowls, and everything in between.

Even though the drawers were different sizes, I carefully arranged them so the cabinet layout still looked balanced and intentional.

Another important detail for me was keeping the countertops clear. Almost every appliance found a home inside the cabinets—coffee maker, rice cooker, water dispenser, toaster, sparkling water maker, blender, and more. When the cabinet doors close, everything disappears.

This is something I always try to do during renovations. I love the calm feeling of a clean surface. When nothing crowds the countertops, you can truly see the materials and appreciate the space as it was designed.

Above the backsplash, instead of installing upper cabinets, I placed three floating shelves made from white oak.

These shelves became one of my favorite parts of the kitchen.

They are my little gallery.

As I mentioned before, I love collecting things—small pieces from daily life and from travels. Objects that quietly carry memories. A museum ticket from Paris. A postcard picked up at a furniture fair in Milan. A photograph I took at Whole Foods because I was fascinated by the vibrant colors of stacked carrots.

All of these moments live on those shelves.

I arrange them like a tiny exhibition. Sometimes I change the display when I feel like seeing a different part of my collection. In a way, it’s an ongoing exhibition—curated just for myself.

Beyond the island sits our dining table, large enough to seat eight people. Along the wall behind it, I finally found the perfect place for another collection I had been saving for years—my New Yorker magazine covers. Seeing them all displayed together felt like they had finally found their home.

Under the dining table, I placed a soft carpet with a powdery sage green background, creating a subtle visual connection back to the kitchen cabinets.

At the end of the island, a sliding glass door opens onto the deck.

The deck sits elevated above the backyard. We covered the floor with natural sisal rugs and placed soft poufs where we could sit or lie down comfortably. In the evenings, globe garden lights glow gently above us.

It became one of our favorite places in the house.

From there, we could watch the backyard quietly come alive. Sometimes bunnies would hop through the grass. One year, a mother rabbit even gave birth there—three different times. I remember discovering tiny baby bunnies tucked inside a small nest in the ground, carefully covered with grass and soft fur from their mother’s belly.

That story deserves its own post someday.

The deck slowly became our peaceful corner—a place for a glass of wine, a book, and quiet moments under the evening sky.

And inside, the open kitchen naturally grew into the center of our daily life.

We ate at the island.
We talked at the dining table.
We worked at the island and sometimes out on the deck.

So many ordinary moments unfolded there. Yet those ordinary moments are what slowly built our life in this house.

It was my first completed kitchen.

But to us, it was always much more than just a kitchen.

To be continued for the rest of space..